The present invention generally relates to toys, and more specifically to a rotating toy which can produce an optical illusion which successively results in the disappearance and reappearance of an object.
Numerous rotating toys are known. Some of these rotating toys are educational in nature while others are for amusement. Two educational-type rotating toys are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 967,591 and 2,608,006. Amusement toys which include revolving or rotating elements are disclosed in the following U.S. Pat. Nos.: 1,227,393; 2,283,104 and 2,460,328. In the case of the educational toys, there is typically provided a drum which bears certain information, whether numerals or letters or words. Turning of the drum brings different information into view. In some cases, different parts of the drum are exposed to similarly bring different information into view, all these being intended to provide a learning experience in both an interesting and entertaining manner.
With respect to the amusement rotating toys, these generally relate to rotatable stage or exhibition devices. A screen or sliding curtain is generally provided to block the view of the rotating element while the same is rotating, for example, between one scene and another. Once the element has turned and stopped, the curtain is again opened and the new stage setting may be viewed. In U.S. Pat. No. 1,227,393, a platform is turned and a plurality of paper dolls or cut-out pictures are mounted on a rotating platform which dolls are successively brought into position between a source of light and a screen so that the shadow of the miniature object is thrown on the screen. A make and break electrical circuit is provided to cause illumination only when the object is positioned directly between the screen and the light.
While the closing of a curtain or the turning-off of a source of light provides a period during which a rotating element may be turned to provide a new image when the curtain is opened or the light again energized, these are not optical illusions which are generated by the mere turning and substantially instantaneous stopping of a rotatable element.
With the present invention, an optical illusion is produced by initially rotating a rotatable element at a sufficiently high speed. By providing angularly disposed surfaces or display areas about the axis of the rotatable housing, any one of these surfaces or display areas may be brought into view or made to disappear from view by almost instantaneously stopping the rotation of the rotatable housing in a predetermined angular position. Since it is difficult to observe any one of the surfaces or display areas of the rotatable housing during rotation and it may only be viewed when the rotatable housing is stopped, an object in one display area may be made to disappear and reappear by successively bringing that display area and an empty display area into view. Selection means, in the form of manually actuatable buttons, may be variably disposed above the rotatable housing to engage an engageable portion on the rotatable housing which rotates with rotation of the same.